#Food Safety Law

The Bombay High Court granted anticipatory bail to an accused in a food safety case where the alleged contraband was recovered from a co-accused’s premises, not his own, and the legal validity of BNS Section 123 remains under Supreme Court review. This ruling reinforces that mere association through disclosure, without physical possession or direct evidence, cannot justify pre-arrest detention - especially when the statute’s applicability is unsettled, protecting individuals from speculative prosecution under untested provisions.

Gujarat High Court rules that substandard food under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 warrants only a monetary penalty, not criminal conviction. The judgment distinguishes substandard from unsafe food, limiting criminal liability to cases involving health hazards and setting a precedent for food adulteration prosecutions.